Time magazine lends its cover for Call of Duty promotion

Time magazine has got to have one of the most recognizable covers of a magazine all over the world. The iconic red border and matching four letters as its header: TIME. Well, the magazine has been the subject of controversy due to a promotion stint the company is doing with Activision, the publishers of hit video game: Call of Duty. In an attempt to reach out to the younger demographic, Time magazine agreed to allow its red-bordered cover as a mock poster for the upcoming CoD game: Modern Warfare 3.

The cover poster features an image of Wall Street devastated by war, with buildings burnt and damaged, and the subtitle: World Stands On The Brink. Now to people who don’t know about CoD: MW3, they would probably think it was an authentic issue of the magazine, which has led to some confusion and controversy over the whole issue. Apparently people have a problem with the magazine selling itself to a video game company to advertise itself. It is notable that this is the first time ever that an authorized Time cover has been created to promote a commercial product.

I can’t say if such an advertising stint will work on the young male demographic and encourage them to pick up the magazine (unless they promise CoD content inside the issue i.e. cheat codes, tips) but personally – I don’t think it’s going to attract customers who don’t buy Time magazine in the first place. The magazine is big enough to without having to resort to advertising stints in order to move issues. This will probably help CoD sell more than push Time to the younger audience. How do you feel about Time magazine being used for such a purpose? Does it affect your perception of the magazine?